Everyone
by Freedomflyer
Summary: Dorina Basarab meets Cassandra Palmer, because seriously! If my father was in love with a woman that much, i'd at least want to meet her.


One rule to remember when dealing with Dark Fae is to never turn your back. Unfortunately there is no hand guide or even a list for my kind of work. It's not like people breed Dark Fae together very often, and to be fair, until this war between the Dark Mages and the vampire Senate, I don't think anyone would have tried. Just my luck, then, to be one of the first.

My name is Dory and currently I was face to face with a big bad and ugly crossbreed of Dark Fae. A cross breed between what, I very much did not want to know. However, as soon as I brought it to my uncle, I'm sure I would be heralded with fascinating scientific facts about it. Radu Basarab, my somewhat famous vampire uncle, was, at present, the Senates pet scientist. His new job was to contain and research these new crossbreeds that were popping out of the Dark Circle's grasp.

It was his and it was my task forces. A month ago, my father had written me a business proposition, one with no family strings attached and I had accepted. This meant that I would join a Senate task force to escort immigrant fae who would eat people, keep the fae wine from being sold on earth and also round up the Dark Mage's creations. Thus my present situation of big, bad and ugly.

"Dory, hit its neck!" came a cry from across the room. Twisting to the side to avoid the beast's slashing claws, I struck at its neck with a chair leg I'd picked up along the way. It crumpled and fell to the ground asleep.

"Damn guard dog." The silver mage behind me choked when he got close enough to smell it. "Oh god, was it making that stench before?" At my nod he looked at me with more respect. "Good job Dory, I don't think I could have been at such close range for so long." He patted my back and turned to the others.

"Are there more?" I asked trying not to ruin his image of me by retching.

"Not here." Tyler closed his eyes and I felt his magic flow out to search the surrounding areas. "Not that I can find." Nodding again, I reached into my bag and pulled out a length of rope. I threw it to another mage who had stood and watched me struggle with the beast.

"You may want to tie it up before transporting it. Radu wasn't very happy when the last one woke up on the plane and terrorized the pilot." He just sneered at me, not amused. He rarely was.

In this group of mages and vampires, I was the only one of my kind. That wasn't an odd occurrence, however, I was the only dhampir working for the senate at all. The fact that I was second in charge of this group was odd as well.

Tyler Perry was the leader and the only one in the group who valued my work. Or at least he was the only one who openly accepted me. I figured that was because I had proved myself well over the last few weeks. My father being Mircea, chief negotiator of the vampire Senate, had nothing to do with it, fortunately. Our group had three vampires, all of which were slightly disgusted with their awe of me. They'd all heard of my heroic rescue of Uncle Radu, Daddy and a French Senate member, Louis-Cesare.

On a quest to kill my Father's evil brother, also known as Dracula, I'd managed to get both my good uncle and father into and out of a very dangerous and deadly situation. Nothing had been planned that way, it just happened. So now the vampires who walked around me were awed and disgusted more than usual. I've grown used to the disgust. I kill their kind so I can understand. The awe was a little unsettling from beings who hated me at the same time.

My focus was pulled back into the room where we'd found the beast. Its chain had been pulled out of the wall. This didn't surprise me. The thing had been as tall as my shoulders on four feet and its miniature wings made it taller than me. And twice as strong.

"How'd you know about the neck?" I asked Tyler. He walked ahead of me, checking on the two people the beast had taken out before I'd got to it.

"I saw purple marks there." He looked at me and smiled. "Or you could just say that I know things." He wasn't lying about just knowing things. He was good with instincts and he could definitely have just seen the purple marks. I wasn't sure which, just glad that he was on my side.

"Are we free to go back to MAGIC yet?" MAGIC was the home base for our pack which meant from there I could go home for a while. Tyler knew I wanted a shower and smiled. He was a black man in his mid thirties with a nice smile. Only his mid thirties were really about seventy five. Magic users tend to live longer than norms.

"Yeah. We need to get the latest to Radu to study. We can go back and regroup." He looked at the two wounded, a mage and a vamp. "Maurice and Wallace need to rest." I allowed myself a small smile and swiped at my itchy cheek. When my hand came away a dark blue color I grimaced and gave a grossed out look to Tyler. He laughed and we headed out to the car.

The car was actually a truck that was more than eight feet tall and built to carry dangerous creatures. The back of our truck had five other cages of varying sizes that carried other half breed creations. Big bad and ugly would be our sixth and final stop before home.

When all eight members crunched into the car, we headed to the outskirts of Vegas. It was lucky we were close, since I needed a shower and didn't want to find a hotel for the night.

Radu was expecting us, when we arrived at the Senate building. He stood in the entrance hall waiting, dressed like a red musketeer. This was a normal occurrence for my slightly psychotic uncle, who was pure Russian and was born before the musketeer times. And while this wasn't the only thing that made him just that side of sane, it was the one that I had found myself able to get over.

"'Du, we brought you pets." My ability to shorten their names made my family grind their pointy teeth. Radu had learnt to deal with it as I had with his clothes. That didn't make him happy about it.

"Dorina, pleasant as always." Calling me Dorina, after constant requests to be called Dory, was his way of getting me back it seemed. "You've brought me new ones?" he rubbed his hands together. "I'm assuming they're discreetly being shipped to my labs?" I nodded and we moved out of the entrance.

Tyler lead Maurice and Wallace to their rooms while the other four dispersed between the kitchen and the underground garages for their cars. Radu and I were heading toward my father's huge rooms where I had been invited to stay during my time with the Senate task force. I rarely stayed, only using them for their luxurious showers.

Though Radu doesn't like me much, he was a gentleman and escorted me to my rooms. Seconding as a buffer between those vampires in the building who I loved to annoy. Kit Marlowe was one of them and we passed him in the hall. I restrained myself because despite my birth rights, I didn't have to hate all vampires. And Marlowe was one that I almost enjoyed arguing with.

Mircea's suite was beyond nice, and slightly intimidating. Its sheer size was enough to make you stop in the doorway and gape.

"Is Daddy here?"I asked Radu at the door. "Should I be expecting a get together discussion?"

"Not today. He is in Las Vegas I believe, with the Pythia." I nodded. Cassandra Palmer had stirred up the magic world with her untrained and unknown rise into position of Pythia. The biggest clairvoyant in the world. Of course my father had been asked to talk to her. Her help with the war would be crucial. The Pythia was usually a servant to the Silver Circle, White Mages, though Cassandra's circumstances had made her neutral between them and the Vampires.

I'd never met her, but I could tell that I'd like her.

Radu left me to bathe. Drying my hair afterward was too complicated, and I wanted nothing more than to just lay down and crash. So with wet hair on the pillow behind me, I did.

Someone was in the room when I woke up. Breathing slowly I caught the scent of good brandy, nicotine and fresh pine, which I had learned he put into his fireplace.

"Hiya, Daddy." I said sitting up. He hadn't startled, which didn't surprise me. He'd probably heard my heartbeat quicken.

"Hello, Dorina." He stood at the window looking out at the wasteland of Nevada.

"Can I help you or did you wake me up just to annoy me?" I asked stretching. He gave me a disapproving look, as though I should know better than to ask.

"Radu wanted to talk to you. He seemed pressed for time, so he asked me to wake you." Mircea turned back to the window. I may call him Daddy, and we'd become less frigid since the incident with Radu, but in my mind he was Mircea: A vampire whom others turn to and worship.

"So you stood there and let me sleep? I knew I got intelligence from somewhere." When he just gave me an exasperated look, I grinned.

"I allowed you sleep because I've heard from Master Perry that you have been working on very little sleep lately." He moved to the chair next to my bed. I didn't think it had been there before. "You were so exhausted, you didn't notice me until a minute ago, and I have been here for half an hour." I almost started at that. I couldn't believe I'd been that tired. Feeling for my hair, I realized it was completely dry.

"Oh." I gave him a curious look. "Half an hour? Of staring out the window?"

"Indeed." He looked as relaxed as I'd ever seen him.

"Radu told me you weren't here. Said you were in Vegas with the Pythia." Mircea's eyebrow rose. His signature look that could say anything from, you are being infuriating, to you are a worm who has become vaguely more interesting. This particular eyebrow raise probably meant, 'why does my current position matter to you?'.

"I had been until recently. The Pythia was needed by the consul. I escorted her here and met with Master Perry and Radu."

"Cassandra Palmer is here?" I leaned forward. "Could I meet her?" Realizing I was showing too much emotion in front of this man who was my father, I slid on my poker face. "When will she be leaving?"

Mircea hadn't dropped his own polite face, but the slight twinkle in his eye belied his amusement. "Cassandra is staying tonight and I am sure she'd be agreeable to meet with you. Most of her friends are Vampires and there is her Mage guard so you will need to use your best manners." His minor expression turned suddenly stern. "And if I find that you have been anything other than respectful towards her, then I will not hesitate in finding some way to punish you."

I grinned at him. "Got it, Best behavior." For some reason he looked no less stern. "Honestly Daddy, if she's one of your friends, I would never dream of being rude." At an eyebrow raise that most definitely meant 'Dorina you are not amusing me' I snickered and stood up. "Where can I find her now?"

"You cannot find her now. Radu is waiting for you." He stood also and seemed to waver. "I can invite her to dinner if you would truly like to meet her." He looked at me with dark amber eyes.

I sighed. He was being nice. I could take care of Mircea being frightening, I could handle him as annoyed and I could take him ignoring me. I didn't know what to do with him being nice. "Sure. We'll have a nice father daughter and Pythia dinner together." He nodded and was gone, closing the door gently behind him.


End file.
